Would You Let Me Love You?
by Sol Embers
Summary: How could this happen? How did Eleanor start becoming close to Velvet? Two completely different worlds, joining into one because of a little boy in need of tutoring... Why is Velvet always so down? Can she unlock the secrets to her arm? Or will she unlock something else... her heart? - Veleanor - T, future M?


**_Would You Let Me Love You?_**  
 _Chapter One: Slowly Recovering_

"Laphi you're cheating." Velvet snickers as she plays on their gaming console. She laughs as she tries to snag his controller, but Laphi just laughs and scoots away. "No, sis! You're just a sore loser~!" He argues playfully. They both stop when they hear the door open from behind them. "Laphi, Velvet, don't be so loud." Their mother says with a gentle smile. Velvet and Laphi nod at her mother before they glance at one another. They start to giggle, then return back to their video game.

The doorbell soon start to ring, and Celica calls her father to answer it, saying it might be Arthur. Not long after, Arthur comes up behind the black haired cook, giving her a hug. "Hey." He greets with a smile. He pulls away and starts helping out with the cooking, asking what she needs and being told what to do with it.

The two parents look at the two for a moment before they smile. Even though they're only freshmen, they're already so grown up… more so than their peers, so they think. The adults glance at one another and smile. They turn back to the TV, watching their favorite action-adventure show.

Arthur hands Celica the chopped mushrooms. Celica smiles at him as she lets him pour the mushrooms in. She wanted to try Flambé cooking cooking tonight, so she's trying it out with simple vegetables. She slips some sauce on it before letting it mix together. The two smile at one another, giving each other a kiss. Celica giggles as she nuzzles at his cheek, then going right back to cooking. Arthur watches her cook and slowly strokes her hair. He gives her another kiss on the cheek, and holds her close. "How long will it take?"

"Don't be hasty. My family will be hungry soon, you know." She giggles. She grabs the liquor and starts to pour only a little bit in. She tilts it to the side, letting the fire ignite within the pan. She starts to mix it again for awhile. Arthur watches her for awhile, waiting for the fire to dim. He then pouts and holds her closer, tugging her closer to him. "Just one more kiss." He begs. But as soon as he tugs again, Celica accidentally elbows the bottle of liquor, spilling it all over the floor. "Ooh! Oh no, the liquor…" She sighs. She kneels down as she picks up a mini towel to wipe it off. Arthur starts to apologize, but jumps at the crackle sound by the pan.

Somehow, a small bit of the flamed liquor tipped out of the pan, and landing on the liquor. The terrifying flame starts to spread onto the wooden counter and spreading everywhere else. Celica flinches as she stands up, padding at her red hand. "Ow!" She gasps, "Arthur, get my parents out of here!"

"What about you?!"

"I'll be fine! Just go get them out! I'll get Velvet and Laphi!" Celica yells as she runs to one side of the house, looking for Velvet.

The black haired middle schooler steps out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She sniffs, smelling smoke. She turns around, and flinches. "What-" She immediately runs into the kitchen, both Celica and Arthur nowhere to be found. She sees the flames catching onto walls, ceilings, everything. The ceiling starts to fall onto the floor, and she's so shocked. She looks around, "Laphi?!" She yells. But the yelling can't overcome the loud crackling of the flames, burning apart wood all around her. Velvet coughs, and she starts to run for Laphi's bedroom.

Velvet's vision starts to hurt as the colorful home starts to turn into shades of red, orange, and yellow, then dark grey. She coughs at the smoke, rubbing her eyes every now and then. She squints as she keeps looking around. The many large and small broken pieces of wood thud against the floor, the crisp sounds of the fire devouring the wood spark, hurting Velvet's eyes. She covers her face, and coughs. She immediately passes by around the house, looking for her family.

"Velvet...!" A little boy's voice echoes weakly not far away. Velvet, after hearing the boy, rushes towards it. Her tears start to drip from her eyes as soon as she sees her weak brother, under a large pile of burning wood. "Laphi!" She screams, running to the pile and trying to pull each wood off him. But some are too heavy to even budge it… He's stuck… His legs are pressed under. Even if he survives, he won't be able to walk anymore…

Even then, she tries to disperse the pile. She stops when she catches something move at the corner of her eye. "Ah! Arthur!" She calls out, "Help me get Laphi out!"

Arthur looks over, a frightened look on her face. "W-where's Celica?! Your parents?!"

"They should be outside by now! Laphi's going to die here, Arthur!" The girl argues, practically begging. But Arthur wouldn't budge. He sees a pole of wood above the two start to split, tipping down towards them. He sees it fall, the pointed edges plunge towards the little boy.

Velvet's face suddenly feels warm liquid onto her face. Her eyes widen, her eyes blurring. _No… No, no no no…_ Velvet, paralyzed, stares at her now dead brother. As it finally registers in her mind, she starts screaming, falling to the floor and holding his hands. " _ **LAPHI…! LAPHI, NO…!**_ " Arthur takes a step back. "No…" He whispers… then scurries off cowardly, the screams of a sister in disbelief echoes in his ears.

 _Crackle… crack…_

There's no way Velvet wants to leave now. Even if her sister and parents could still be alive outside, waiting for her. Without Laphi… She can't live.

She trembles, the tear-soaked cheeks redden due to the burning fire all around her. She gasps as she hears something above her. The next thing she knows, a shocking wave of agony runs through her body. She looks at the source of her pain… Her left arm, squashed and burned by wood. She screams in pain, her other hand gripping onto her brother's. It's too much. Her arm hurts. Her arm is burning…

The shock is so overwhelming, the last thing she sees is Laphi's bright platinum blonde hair.

* * *

Velvet wakes up, sweat drips from her jawline, her chest pounding painfully, her left arm pulsing. She looks around, seeing she's in a room by a window. She looks outside… It's such a big building. Where is she?

"Velvet? Did you fall asleep again?" A man's voice calls out. Velvet quickly turns her head, surprised. She breathes heavily, seeing a man with glasses and a white doctor's coat. She sees a beeping machine beside her bed, and she looks up at him. "Yeah, sorry." She says, looking away. She remembers now; She's visiting the hospital for her physical therapy. She stares at her bandaged left arm. She's able to move it just fine now, but the doctor just told her to come one last time to double check.

She moves her fingers, thinking back to her "dream." _Five years…_ She thinks to herself. Her ears perk at his voice filling the silence. "How's Phi? Been saving up for his schooling?"

Surprised, she looks towards the window with a smile. "...Yeah. I have enough for tutoring. I'll contact the school tomorrow."

"I'm glad you picked him up, Velvet. You're really great." He looks at her with a smile, finishing up whatever he's writing on his clipboard. He takes her hand and helps her off the bed. "You're free to go."

"Thank you. How much-"

"There's no need, Velvet. His education is much more important." The doctor lets go of her hand and heads for the door, opening it for her. "Now go home and rest, you have a big day tomorrow."

* * *

Velvet opens the door to see a little boy cleaning the coffee table in the living room. He looks up with a big smile on his face, his cow lick standing up with joy. "Velvet! Welcome home!" He greets. "Phi," She smiles. "I'm home." She goes up to him. She sees Laphi in him, but she shakes it off. She can't do that now. She pets his head, and heads to the couch. She slowly relaxes, feeling right at home.

"Velvet, Logres High School called today, saying something about going to school tomorrow." Phi says with a smile. He heads towards the kitchen, grabbing some orange juice from the fridge and pouring it into a glass. He heads back towards the couch and hands it to the high school student. The other smile as she takes it, "Thank you."

She grabs her laptop from the coffee table and sets a pillow over her lap, then the laptop over it. She turns it on, clicks on her web browser, and types in her school website's URL. She browses through the links, looking for tutoring or anything similar. After awhile of surfing, she finally gets redirected to the tutoring and help website for students. She looks at the other links, wondering where she could find homeschooling.

Phi has only been around for two years, but since they met, she's been feeling a sense of obligation to nurture him into an adult. Perhaps it's to fill the void she never got to do for Laphi… She stop what she's doing and looks at him. The boy was drawing on a piece of paper, a four tall people, two boys and two girls, and a small boy. It looks like Velvet and her friends… She slowly lets out another smile, and inhales. She looks at her laptop, finally the word _tutoring_ catches her eye.

She hovers the mouse over tutoring and clicks on it, reading a wall of text on the side of the website. She sees the address of the tutoring center, and writes it down. "Phi, let's make dinner now." She calls out after setting the laptop down. She heads to the kitchen, with her housemate behind her. She smiles at him, and he back at her. Since tomorrow will be a busy day, they should get some rest early.

* * *

Velvet rests peacefully under the covers, laying on her stomach and her arms around her head pillow. She mumbles something in her sleep until her alarm clock starts to go off. She groans as one arm extends, her hand searching for the disturbance. She slams her hand on the table, getting annoyed as the alarm's constant beeping hastens. She snarls as she opens her eyes, grabbing the clock. "Shut up!" She yells, throwing the clock across the room.

She turns her body around, facing against the curtained window. She groans again, wanting to go back to sleep. Why was there an alarm in the first place…? Her ears perk, hearing the alarm blaring from the floor on the other side of the room. She groans loudly and sits up. She looks at the door as it starts to open, seeing Phi. "Velvet?" He smiles nervously, not sure how to react to her grumpiness, "Get ready soon… School starts in an hour, right?"

Velvet stares at him with an annoyed, groggy expression. Her hair curled and hanging off unnatural places, and the sleeve of her shirt hanging off one side of her shoulder. She groans again, and rubs her eyes. "Right… School…" She grumbles. She gets up and stretches, "Alright… Phi, can you make some toast and grab some jam from the fridge?" She asks, heading towards the clock. Phi nods and does as he's told.

She turns the alarm off, and places it back where it should be. She heads for the closet, pulling out the school uniform from the hanger. The colors really don't fit her… The blue and white theme in contrast to her black hair and gold eyes, and her usual theme of punk-rock black and red clothes make it hard for her to look at this hideous uniform. But she sighs. "I guess there's no helping it…"

She changes her clothes and undergarments, changing into a clean pair of underwear and then the uniform. When she's done, she glances at the mirror, slightly odd with how the uniform looks on her. She breathes slowly and heavily, trying to get over it… but how can she? She looks ridiculous!

"Velvet, toast is ready." Phi calls from the dining room. Velvet looks at the door for a moment. "... Coming." She manages. She heads out the door, then sits at the dining room, taking a piece of toast. She looks at Phi, who was gazing at her outfit. "...It's not polite to stare, Phi."

"I-" He gasps, beginning to get flustered, "I.. I'm sorry!" He looks away as he grabs a toast and spreading raspberry jam on it. He takes a big bite to take his embarrassment on it. Velvet laughs, reaching over to pet his head. "Don't be so embarrassed… You're alright." She smiles, spreading strawberry jam on hers. She takes a bite, having a conversation with Phi as she finishes her food. When she's done, she grabs her back and check for her notebook, pencil, and miscellaneous objects she needs. She puts on black and gold battle boots, and heads out, saying bye to Phi.

As she heads the school, she's been greeted by Rokurou, Magilou, and Eizen. The three students wave at her, Rokurou with his dumb grin on his face. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asks. With no response, she continues to walk pass them, putting on her I-don't-care facade. The three look at each other and chuckle, "I guess she slept well then." Magilou snickers. She and the boys follow behind Velvet, walking towards the large building in front of them.

When Velvet figures out her class number, she heads towards the stairs. As soon as she enters the classroom, she sits in the back of the class with her clique. She looks out the window beside her and sighs. Rokurou kicks his feet up onto the table in front of him and he leans back, looking at Velvet, "I know, me too. I didn't wanna be here. But here we are, Velvet." He jokes, his smile is practically permanent on his face. Velvet glares as she ruffles his hair. "Face the front, or somebody will tell you o-"

"Rokurou!" A voice yells from the door. _Great..._ Velvet sighs. She and Rokurou look over at the door, seeing the girl with reddish hair and a hat on her head. Velvet covers her face in annoyance. It's so early, and she's already on our asses. "Why do you put your feet up! Put them down!" She says.

"Oh, Rep Eleanor~ You sure got a lot of energy for yelling on the first day of school." Rokurou chuckles as he puts his feet down. "Alright, ma'am. Don't call the student police on us." He jokes. Eizen smirks as he leans back, enjoying the commotion so early in the morning. Eleanor frowns as she glares at the two boys. Then, the black haired female catches her eye.

Velvet was staring back at her with her golden, beautiful eyes. Eleanor internally swoons at her piercing gaze, but immediately shakes her head to step away from her fantasies. "A-anyway, just… don't cause any more trouble today!" She says, heading to the front of the class. It's been a whole forty days since she's seen her, and she's so glad she's in the same class as her. Oh God, how will she concentrate if she could feel her back being watched by her first and only crush?

 _Eleanor! Get ahold of yourself!_ Eleanor thinks to herself. She immediately sits down at the front, middle desk. She knows this is where, from Velvet's point of view, she can see most of the board from. She'll be sure Velvet can look at her gracefully taking notes and intently listening!

 _E, LEA, NOR!_ Eleanor yells at herself internally. She inhales, then exhales. She looks at her bag and starts to sprawl out her pencil, eraser and notebook. She's so excited; She can't wait to get closer to Velvet this year!

Magilou, meanwhile, is talking to Velvet about how Eleanor let Rokurou off the hook after Velvet looked at her with that teasing tone in her voice. A sudden chill runs down the student council representative's spine. Has she been figured out already?! She wants to look back at them, but resists the urge to argue. She sits up straight, pulls in her chair closer to the desk, and waits patiently for the teacher.

* * *

Hours gone by, the golden eyed student puts down her pencil for a second, letting her hand relax. She lets out a quiet sigh… After school, she has to go to the tutoring center. She looks out the window. The swaying leaves dance the trees, the water in the fountain well at the front of the school calmly rolling with the wind. Beyond the walls and gate of the school, a wide path between nature runs through. For once, admiring the scenery isn't so bad.

"Crowe."

Velvet looks towards the sound of the voice. She looks towards the front of the class, seeing her teacher with an annoyed expression. "Read the top of page 42." She states calmly, though Velvet's sure she's about to break that chalk, or throw it at her face…

The student sighs, standing up. She feels all eyes on her… no, her left arm. She hates it. She hates feeling their gazes. She doesn't care about what they think about her. She never did, but the stares are always the most painful. She reads her part, reading for quite a long time. She glances up as she reads, seeing the teacher's dissatisfied look on her face. Then she looks away, accidentally locking eyes with the Student Council Representative.

Eleanor stares with intent, her heart beating at the rhythm of Velvet's voice. She's so distracted with her voice that she can't actually see Velvet looking at her. Actually, Eleanor's watching the girl's lips, watching how each curve and puck motion and how it matches with her voice so well. When the teacher finally tells her to stop, she snaps out of her weird fantasy and she looks up, Velvet's still staring at the reddish girl with a confused expression.

The other girl's face turn into a light pink, turning away quickly. The black haired woman tilts her head and looks at the teacher. She bows her head and sits back down. _That representative is weird._ She thinks to herself. She looks back down at her notes… Why was she staring at her so intently? With odd passion? Was she that good at reading? Eleanor, to Velvet, has always been a little weird. She notices every weird thing she does when she's around her. Does she want to be friends? With a delinquent?

That's an odd theory.

She hears the bell ring, and looks at the time. "Ah…" She lets out. She looks at Rokurou, Eizen, and Magilou, with Rokurou saying he has to go see the kendo club. Eizen and Magilou all agree that they won't be going to Velvet's house today… As if Velvet wasn't there. She sighs and rubs her head. She stands up, says goodbye to her group of friends and heads towards the door.

* * *

After arriving at the tutoring center, she sees a few students from her school, even her class. Her eye twitches, not exactly glad to see any of them. But what can she do, it's the school's property, naturally…

"Hello, miss. Do you need any tutoring?" The front desk lady asks, interrupting her thoughts. Velvet looks at her and nods, "Oh… no. I'm, uh, here to ask for homeschooling… for a ten year old boy."

"Oh, your brother?" She asks, assuming that's the case. Velvet stares at her, those words pierced her chest… and her left arm. Memories flood, but she pushes them away. "I'm just his guardian." She explains simply. The lady smiles at her response, looking at the computer. "What subject, ma'am? And on what days is he available?"

"All four subjects. Math, English, History, and Science. I want the best you have. He's free during weekends, Monday's, and Wednesday's."

"Oh?" The girl peeks a look at her. "Of course. I'll call for her right away. Her name is-"

Velvet interrupts her, "I'll be going now. I'll pay her directly." She can't handle feeling the stares coming at her way. She could hear whispers. She could hear her fellow students mumbling. She hates it. If they have a problem with her, they should just tell her straight up.

She immediately leaves the center and heads home. She grips onto her left arm, rubbing it roughly to erase the thoughts in her head. No matter how many times she says she doesn't care what they think, her past is taking a toll on her mental state. She's not going crazy, she swears… She just-

She bumps into a flat, rough chest. She steps back, rubbing her nose. She looks up, seeing Arthur- no, Artorius. Her eyes widen, and she feels her fingers piercing onto her left arm. Artorius. Artorius. Artorius… She inhales. Artorius looks down at the shorter figure. "..." His expression stays the same, "Excuse me, Velvet." He walks pass her.

"How…" Velvet grits her teeth, "How can you act so calmly… You…!"

"..." Artorius doesn't respond. He continues to walk, heading towards the student council room. Velvet stares at the ground. He left them to die… He left Celica. He didn't look for Celica! He… he didn't care anything about her or her family! She runs to the front doors of the school, running home immediately.

* * *

Eleanor gets a text message on her phone. She picks it up from the table and reads it. _Homeschooling? For a little boy?_ She thinks to herself. She reads all the information about it, and responds, _Yes, that would be fine. When do I start?_

As soon as she sends it, two blonde students enter the room. Eleanor looks up with a smile on her face. "Hello, Teresa! Oscar!" She greets. The two looks at her and greets back with a small smile. The two take their seats next to each other, and Eleanor receives another text. _Today. Since you have SC meeting, I'll email them to wait for you._

She puts down the phone when she finishes reading it, and leans back. The rest of the members from Student Council enters the room one by one, the last being their president, Artorius. She sits up straight, greeting Artorius. Teresa the treasurer, Oscar the secretary, and Shigure the vice president. They greet each other warmly, beginning to discuss about their future student council positions and what they should do for their last year. Artorius, on the other hand, is a super senior. He skipped a whole year of school due to depression, hence he got to stay for one more year.

Time in the student council is always somewhat dull. Eleanor, although loves being a representative and being part of the SC clique, sometimes she just ends up wanting to fall asleep. She thinks it's a disgrace though, as being a 4.0 student, these things should be nothing compared to the class lectures.

Eleanor writes notes for their ideas and crosses out what they don't agree on, and adds a question mark to ones they seem to conflict about… She looks up to see Shigure looking at Artorius. She looks at him too, his face is always resting at a straight, fatigued expression. So, Shigure has probably noticed it too. _Was it because of his depression?... What happened to him?_ the girl thinks to herself.

Eleanor stops taking notes, seeing that Artorius raises his hand to stop their meeting. "It's been two hours now. I think we will continue this tomorrow." He says. Everybody stops talking and looks over at him. They don't argue, they don't object… They just nod and get up. Eleanor looks at Artorius again before packing her stuff up as well. She grabs her bag and pulls out her phone, seeing as she received another message. An address. She nods to herself as she quickly drops by at the tutoring center for the books, then she checks the maps app from her phone to direct her to the boy's home.

* * *

The green eyed woman stops in front of an apartment complex. She looks around, checking the number of the apartment home. She goes up the third floor, heading to the number thirty-six. She looks at the door for a second, and sighs with nervousness. She holds up her knuckles by the door, and starts to knock.

There's a short silence. Small footsteps start to grow louder, stopping in front of the door. The door slowly swings open, seeing a woman with black hair and gold eyes, wearing a ripped, big punk-rock style shirt with shorts. The reddish haired girl's eyes widen, her heart pounding through her ears.

" _V...Velvet?_ "


End file.
